CHAPTER VII 



NESTS 



Before the summer is over a bird student 

 should learn to identify the nests of our common 

 birds. Therefore, after having learned to iden- 

 tify the preceding thirty species, go nest-hunting. 

 Let us consider the nests in the same manner 

 as the birds, i. e., according to their abundance 

 and relative ease of recognition. 



1. English Sparrow: A bulky affair, con- 

 sisting of straw and dry grass as a rule, but may 

 be built of anything from chicken feathers to 

 bits of paper. Always huge, untidy and loosely 

 constructed, and built either in the eaves or 

 roof of one's house, the barn, or some nearby 

 shade tree. Eggs: white with olive markings. 



2. Robin: A nest of coarse grass, mud- 

 lined, and with an inner covering of fine grasses, 

 placed usually near houses, but otherwise the 

 situation is unlimited. The mud lining is the 

 chief identification mark. Eggs: greenish- 

 blue. 



3. House Wren: Generally built in the 

 hole of a tree, bird-box or some other crevice 

 and constructed of twigs, grass and feathers. 

 Eggs: pinkish-buff, occasionally with fine spots 

 and a deeper shaded wreath at the larger end. 



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